The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-04-01

Becomes the Prey OF the Huii'Ni
After the Shot.
The moose seeks his food where the yell
low water lily is found. 1t is not now
ever. the leaves nor the blossoms Whlcn
are sought. but the roots. These eXteno
in a perfect network through the mud III
which they grow, attaining thckhe9S
exceeding a mans arm and an lndeiinite
length. There is no disputlng ABOUT
tastes, and consequently we VIII hot
criticisa the moose fer being so FOND Oh
fhis vegetable. But to the human palate
it is dry, insfpid and puckery To OBTAIN
this he will wade out into the water anu
sOuse his head beneath the surface uhIll
even his ears are submerged 1heh nav
ing wrenched chunk Of greater or less
length from its bed, he w1thdraWs ms
head, and, dripping water from eacn vi
the numerous angles which characterize
his ugly physiOgnOmy, he stanuS CIIo
picture of pure animal enjoyment, cheW-
ing away at one end of the root, WhlIe the
other sticks out of his mouth ike cigar
To catch him in the middle of this per
formance is the constant burden OF the
hunters prayers. ~,
Should the night promise 10 De SUM-
warm and dark, the hunter scourS the II
flectOr of his jack until IT SHINES me oll
yer. and breathes upon and wipes It's glass
lens until it is specl1less. The lamp WITHIN
shouId emit a powerful light, but the cas-
inc must be so constructed that not Jhe
faintest CIimmer can escape until us tlu
is required. and a hinged cover, winch
caps the glass, is dropped
In this as in most other forms OF moose
hunting, two form the cOmpany-ohe 10
do the work while the other takes IN the
fun-and, as in many other Things III Iillo
life. ultimate success depends more on
fine skill of the former than on that OF the
latter.
After the Jack has been lit some twenty
y,oiruteS So that the maximum OF HSnl
DOssible without smoke is assured, the
nair betake themselves to the canoe.
Blankets are spread on the oOtUom Oh Uhe
boat to deaden any motion OF the IeeC.
He who is to shoot seats himself IN the
bow. while his companion first wraps nm
in blankets and then arranges the jack
This is best suspended from frame be
hind the rifeman; but it should be so
connected with his head that the beam OF
Iipht will follow its every motion when
the lack is open. With the glass uncoV-
cred. the rifle is thrown to the shoulder,
and the connection of the jack with the
headgear is so adjusted that when the
most convenient aim is taken 1t Will be
directly in the center of illumination.
Thus both sights of the rife are perfectly
visible. and the difficulty is no longer to
shoot with accuracy, but only to obtain
sufficiently distinct view of the object TO
be hit
When this is complete the other takes
his place in the stern, folds his bianket
over his lap, and, grasping his paddle,
pushes from the bank. The jack IS then
closed, and complete darkness and silence
follow.
AS noiseless as the shadow of a cloud,
the canoe steals along, and hour after
hour it's occupants, relying solely on the
sense of hearing, strain every nerve to de-
feet an indication of the near neighbOr-
hood of the game they seek
Atlast comes slow and measured sound
-slosh, sIosh, slosh; and then all is still
again. The heart of the hunter shrlvels
within him to the size of q lemon, and
flies into his throat, where it keeps up
such a humping that it seems impossible
that the noise should escape the quick ear
of the game With the utmost caution
the rifle is brought to the full cock, and
the left hand freed, ready to open the jack
at the preconcerted signal, which it is the
duty of the paddler to give.
Every ache and pain is at once forgotten
in the all absorbing question, Will he re-
main in the water or take to the bank,
and. burying himself in the woods, escape:
For he is still far beyond the range OF the
lack. and not till it will surely show HIM
I'D must it be opened. If the motion OF
the canoe was slow before, it seems doubly
SO now, and minute after minute, each ap-
parentIy an hour, drags on, and still the
noise, repeated at intervals, seems nc
nearer.
At length, after a seemingly endless de-
Law. comes the signal to open the jack
and the light streams forth. There hG
stands. mid leg deep i'll the water. dim
shadow and mOnStrous, his eyes glarins
green in the light, with the malevOlence o.
a demon. He will stay but for a second
and only to decide which way TO retreat
Raise the rifle slowly, but lose no time
Draw as careful a bead as though shoot
ing at O two-inch bulls eye, and give it tt
him right Throughout behind-the mid
die of the fore shoulder. For a second the
smoke obscures the result Is he down Of
ND? In either case, dose him again IL yOT
can: but if you cannot, close the jack a
once Now is no time to ask your com
panion: Do you think hit him? If yOt
were silent before, be dOubly so now, anC
listen. Does he burst into and tea
through the woods as though he had gone
into the kindIing wood business and wa
LAYING in a winters stock, and do yol
hear him crashing and smashing until th'
sound dies away on the distant mountain
side? 1t was clear miss, or at best
craze. But no; the uproar dies away ant
a silence you can almost feel enSueS
What sound is that from the neighborint
woods? There he isl You can hear hin
breathe and wheeze at every inspiration
1t is well The shot was little too ia
back, but it was pretty well placed all tn
same. Now withdraw with the stiffness
of death itself, and not until at leas
half a mile interviews whisper to you
companion: ''Wen, l guess that's on
meat: what do YOU think?'
For if from any act of yours he discov
ers what has hurt him, particularly if yol
attempt to land, he will either attack a
once. in which case you viii be in desperat
peril. or he will travel till he drops, perhap
miles and miles away, and the foxes az
other narauders of the forest alone Wi
profit by his death. Whereas if you leay
him to attribute his distress to stroke G
lightning or fit of indigestion, or to an
cause other than the agency of man, yo
will find him in the morning, if not lynn
dead, where you last heard him, at al
events so enfeebled that you may still
hunt him with the certainty of success
Henry p. Wells in Harper's Magazine.